The Way He Wished It Was
by admhire
Summary: If only the truth could be what Ralph wished for.


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_The Way He Wished It Was_

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Author: admhire

Rating: PG

Word Count: 1366

Summary: If only the truth could be what Ralph wished for.

Notes: A twelfth chapter of _Lord of the Flies_ which negates Golding's ending—the school assignment: to recreate an ending of his novel.

Disclaimer: I'll leave Golding to the owning.

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Ralph wandered around the forest, slowly taking himself away from Jack's tribe. The forest was dark and full of mystery and danger. Even though the forest brought stillness and quiet, it was eerie.

Ralph was exhausted. He felt himself gradually getting weaker. Ahead, he saw a bright light. Shadows were dancing around the light, but not like wild beasts; their dancing was joyous. All around him, he felt a sense of peace. He no longer felt burdened by thoughts of Jack; he felt free of any hardships at all.

Ralph came to the opening of the forest that led to the shore of the beach. The waves crashed gently against the golden sand. Ralph grinned. A huge fire stood before him and boys of all ages danced around the fire. Piggy and Simon were sitting on the sand, the conch between them, while the littluns ran about the fire, the older ones carrying sticks which poked at the fire playfully.

Ralph plopped down next to Piggy and Simon. They gazed at him eagerly, clearly wanting to know what happened on the other side of the island. Ralph, for the moment had forgotten about his worries. He looked back at Piggy and Simon who had question in their eyes.

"He's gone batty." Ralph paused for a moment to think. "They've all gone batty." He couldn't really think of anything else to say that would describe them.

"You could at least try to be more specific and tell us what you saw," Piggy said, hinting at Ralph. Simon nodded.

"They're simply batty." Ralph thought for another moment. "They were running around like wild animals." He stared out into the open sea trying to grasp words that could describe these wild animals. Vividly, he remembered their eyes widening as their minds filled with malicious thoughts as they looked at him. Ralph had told them to stay away from his half of the island. Jack had looked at him as if to say, "as long as you stay away from my half of the island," but then the look of reason had vanished and his eyes were ever more malicious than the rest of his tribe's. Without warning, the wild animals charge causing Ralph to run as fast as his legs would allow him to. He knew he wouldn't return to that half of the island. It was too dangerous to return to a place where the habitants wanted to kill him.

"We know they're batty. What else?" Piggy insisted.

"They wanted to kill me…"

Piggy turned a shade paler than usual and he shut his mouth. He stared at the horizon which was lined with a faint tint of gold. Simon caught Ralph's eye. Ralph knew that somehow Simon understood.

Most of the littluns had stopped dancing and were in their shelters. The fire was only glowing, but the full moon lit up the sky in a reassuring gesture. Ralph retired to his shelter. He no longer wanted to think. He pushed his worries aside and retreated into bliss.

Ralph sat up and looked at the ocean before him. To the left, the fire was burning again sending up a steady and clear signal. He saw littluns carrying small piles of sticks toward the fire; Samneric were carrying a log. Above the ocean, sunrays poked through the clouds and seemed to be touching the waves. The sense of peace he had felt last night still lingered.

Ralph spotted Piggy and Simon wading in the ocean just close enough to shore and far enough out where the waves were calm. He scanned the horizon and stopped, looking in the distance.

"Simon! Piggy!" Ralph ran toward the open water. He did a cartwheel and then stood still. His eyes stared into the horizon. They looked at Ralph and their eyes followed his gaze. In the distance a stream of smoke was rising. Ralph knew this was it. He was going to be rescued. He stood on his head. There was no need to worry anymore.

Ralph sat on the sand with a thump and lay on his back. He let out a deep sigh and closed hi eyes. For the first time in a long time, he felt hope rise in his spirit.

Simon and Piggy were saying something but he couldn't make it out. He didn't care; he didn't need to care. There were no more worries. But, Piggy and Simon's voices became louder. Still, Ralph couldn't understand what they were telling him and again he pushed it aside. He didn't care if Jack and his tribe were coming. He was going to be rescued! He was going home! Again, he heard voices that were even louder, this time more audible.

"We can't escape; we won't be rescued." Ralph ignored this. He knew they were going to be rescued!

"We can't be helped…" Ralph knew they were going to be helped; what were they thinking?

"We won't be rescued! We can't escape! Ralph! You can't escape!" The voices pounded in his head. Ralph's thoughts were racing. Of course they were going to be rescued; of course they were going to escape the island.

"No!" they shouted. "You can't escape! There isn't anybody to help you." Ralph clamped his hands over his ears and kept his eyes tightly closed. He was going to be rescued. He was going home. He was going to escape. He was going to be free.

"Do you think you know better than we do?" The voices yelled in fury, "Don't you understand? We've got you! We're not going to let you escape!" Ralph's hands clamped tighter over his ears. They were wrong; He was going to be free.

"No!" the voices shouted! "You are not going to be free!"

"I am!" he yelled in defiance. "I'm going to be rescued! I'm going home! I'm going to escape! I'm going to be fr—"

"No! We've got you now! We're not going to let you escape! Understand? Stop fooling yourself! There's nobody to help you. Only us. And we're the—"

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Ralph opened his eyes. There were no voices. There were no people. There was no fire. Nor was there a ship in the distance. Only darkness.

Ralph sat up and realized he was in a thick area of foliage. How did he get there? Suddenly, memories overflowed in his mind. Simon was dead. Piggy was dead. The conch was shattered. Ralph was alone.

His dream… he had dreamt that he wasn't alone; that Simon and Piggy were still here. He had dreamt that the conch still existed. He had dreamt that they were going to be rescued.

Suddenly, voices rang in his head. "We've got you! You can't escape!" He clamped his hands over his ears and tried to shut out the horrible dream. Ralph refused to believe the voices. Deep inside, he knew he was going to be rescued; he knew he was going to be free. Ralph closed his eyes and tried to think about the good part of the dream and his home, but the nightmare came back. "There's nobody to help you! Only us! And we're the—" It had stopped there. What were they? Ralph didn't want to think anymore. He didn't want to know. All he wanted was to escape, not only from the island but form these horrible thoughts.

He heard a twig snap in front of him. He stayed completely still. He heard another twig snap behind him. He heard the rustle of leaves and branches. He kept silent.

"Ralph, we know you're there." Jack's voice was very audible in the silence of the night. Jack was in front of him and his tribe was circled around him. "You can't escape, Ralph."

Ralph shook. _Go away!_ he thought in frustration. He closed his eyes and clamped his ears shut like he had in the nightmare.

"We have you, Ralph!" The circle was closing in. The tribe held their spears above their heads. They aimed towards the center where Ralph sat, ready to strike. "And there's nobody to help you! Only us! And we're the—"

Ralph knew. They were the dirtiest thing there is; they were the beast. 

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